In Japan "Sofubi" usually implies "nihon-sei sofuto biniru" = Soft Vinyl produced in Japan. Whether its a monster or a kewpie - the material and the process are "Sofubi" So whether you say Japanese Vinyl or Sofubi - you are saying the same thing - its a matter of geography and context. You are referring to the material and process. Here is an analogy to make you think: In Japanese, beer is pronounced Bee-Roo - so should we refer to Asahi, Suntory and Kirin as Bee-Roo? In the west they are normally just referred to as Japanese Beers. As the term Kaijiu has made its way into the english lexicon - as with many loan words the meaning has shifted from its original origin. I think the term Kaiju as a synonym for Sofubi is already a done deal despite advocates to the contrary. (but more power to them none-the-less) In japanese there are many English loan words that have shifted from their original meanings. 3 Examples that come to mind are Smart, Handle and Juice. Any guesses to their meaning in Japanese? Language is a virus. There is no right answer.
Yes Juice is often a catch-all phrase for Soft Drinks (non-alcoholic beverages) on many menues. 1 more to go.
When I had a store, I spent half my days explaining "not quite". Now that I get it a few times a week at non-toy-related work, I just say "yeah, kinda".
haha, I like it when I say, "theres this one and its a stitched up elephant with a fish head asshole" and then I get strange looks
Good info! I definitely didn't know the stuff about sofubi but it makes sense. To your beer analogy though, it seems like that kind of thing does happen. "Anime" would be an example since it's basically a shortened loan word, and people say "chai" when they're taking about all tea from India, but when you're dealing with language there are always exceptions. Not all that relavant to the conversation I know, but I've taken so many linguistics courses I can't help but look for counterexamples every time someone starts talking about language. Yeah I'm sure it was. Seems like small Japanese companies are really aware of their public images though. Even if it's only a few people making a few toys they really build a brand with mascots and logos and all that and I think that's part of the fun.
Language is a virus from outer space, but if there is such a thing as right answers, it's very helpful explanatory posts like yours on "sofubi," so thank you!
That's one theory - then there is the MacKenna school - where language was a side effect of ingesting too many psychedelics. The anime example is a good linguistic one as the Japanese term comes from animation but it has been re-imported into English to mean Japanese animation. Following this etymological trajectory the term Sofubi could be posited to be used to mean Japanese Soft Vinyl (toys) in English. But while this is logical - the evolution of language is much more organic and happenstance.
Terrance McKenna, what a brilliant dude. I love listening to that guy talk. Truly changed the way I think about human consciousness and culture. On the subject of linguistics, McKenna, and psychedelics I'll toss out- Sex, Drugs, Einstein & Elves: Sushi, Psychedelics, Parallel Universes and the Quest for Transcendence, as suggested reading.
McKenna is a trip to read as Brain Food - whether you buy into his arguments or not. Someone needs to make a Kaiju of Transforming Machine Elves!
Hadnt seen this before Don - really good stuff, learned a few things, and definitely worth a watch/listen. But why no mention of Secret Base? While the Fink Shit indisputably invented the fight figure genre, it was SB that invested first in teh genre, popularized it and made it what it is today - so I was surprised that as you decided to include fight figures in your presentation, you skipped from Fink Shit to Gargamel fights and Real Head, but dont mention SB. Apart from that (IMHO) omission - first class!
The format on the presentation is very strict - 20 slides at 20 seconds each - I basically had a slide on SB between the Fink & Gargamel but ended up on the cutting room floor. The rationale being If the presentations focus had been primarily on the evolution Indie soft vinyl as opposed to its relationship with the term KAIJU it would been an unforgivable omission - but IMHO Secret Base is the very definition of Indie Japan toys that are NOT Kaiju. Secret Base will be included in the Directors Cut blue ray box set version (in time for the holidays I hope)
I agree with you - SB are not kaiju IMO either, but I would say the same about Real Head too. And certainly not an insult to either. Gargamel I think make it under the wire though due to their standard size and mini figs. Cool - glad to know the blu-ray directors cut will include the "lost" SB footage tho Where was this originally presented?
Gargamel had a product line called Zoki (another word for pachi or bootleg) Kaiju so they definitely merited inclusion. Not sure why realhead was in there This was presented at Pecha Kucha night event in Tokyo. There is tons of info on the site if you go up a level or 2.
